Food guide
Eating in Nigeria: Jollof, Suya and the Street-Food Table
Nigerian food is genuinely a highlight of a visit, and the best of it is often eaten standing at a street stall rather than seated at a restaurant table — a handful of dishes turn up everywhere from roadside vendors to upscale menus, and knowing them makes ordering far easier.
Updated 2026-08-16
Jollof rice and the Nigeria-Ghana rivalry
Jollof rice — a one-pot tomato-and-pepper rice dish cooked with the deep, slightly smoky flavour that comes from the pot's base — sits at the centre of a genuinely good-natured rivalry between Nigeria and Ghana over whose version is better, a debate Nigerians take seriously enough that it's worth having an opinion by the end of a trip. It's the dish most likely to appear at any gathering, from a family meal to a wedding buffet, and comparing versions from different vendors is a genuinely enjoyable way to eat your way through a stay.
Suya and the street-food table
Suya — spiced, grilled skewered meat, most often beef, coated in a dry pepper-and-groundnut spice mix — is Nigeria's defining street food and widely sold from evening vendors in every city, best eaten fresh off the grill rather than reheated. Alongside it, akara (deep-fried bean cakes, often eaten for breakfast) and pepper soup (a light, intensely spiced broth, commonly built around goat meat or fish) round out the dishes most visitors encounter first, all of them street-level food rather than restaurant-only dishes.
Egusi soup and the wider soup tradition
Egusi soup — a thick soup built from ground melon seeds, usually eaten with a starchy accompaniment like pounded yam, eba or fufu rather than rice — represents the broader Nigerian tradition of hearty soups built around a starch base, distinct from the rice-and-stew style of jollof. It's a good dish to try at a proper sit-down restaurant rather than a street stall, since the accompaniments and preparation reward a bit more time than street food typically offers.